Highly transparent, flexible, and thermally stable superhydrophobic ORMOSIL aerogel thin films

Date
2011
Advisor
Instructor
Source Title
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Print ISSN
1944-824
Electronic ISSN
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Volume
3
Issue
2
Pages
539 - 545
Language
English
Type
Article
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract

We report preparation of highly transparent, flexible, and thermally stable superhydrophobic organically modified silica (ORMOSIL) aerogel thin films from colloidal dispersions at ambient conditions. The prepared dispersions are suitable for large area processing with ease of coating and being directly applicable without requiring any pre- or posttreatment on a variety of surfaces including glass, wood, and plastics. ORMOSIL films exhibit and retain superhydrophobic behavior up to 500 °C and even on bent flexible substrates. The surface of the films can be converted from superhydrophobic (contact angle of 179.9°) to superhydrophilic (contact angle of <5°) by calcination at high temperatures. The wettability of the coatings can be changed by tuning the calcination temperature and duration. The prepared films also exhibit low refractive index and high porosity making them suitable as multifunctional coatings for many application fields including solar cells, flexible electronics, and lab on papers. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

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Other identifiers
Book Title
Keywords
Aerogel, Ambient pressure drying, Flexible substrate, Low refractive indices, Optical transparency, ORMOSIL thin film, Porous materials, Superhydrophobic surface
Citation
Published Version (Please cite this version)